


An Inch Forward

by samariumwriting



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Developing Relationship, Flirting, Friendship, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Trans Male Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22165135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: Almyra is hot, and Felix is decidedly not good with heat. Felix is also, in Claude's opinion, far too stubborn for his own good. So maybe it was a mistake to challenge his bodyguard to see if he could embarrass him by loosening up a little.-“You could just take some of that off,” he suggested.Felix raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps I will,” he said. His fingers drifted to the buttons at the collar of his jacket, and Claude followed them with his eyes as they drifted back to his waist - back to his swords (even now, Felix tended to think only of one thing). “At least I would, if I thought I could shed a layer or two and you’d keep focusing on all of that work you need to do.”
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Claude von Riegan, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	An Inch Forward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vault_Emblem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/gifts).



> This was a prize for vault_emblem for my 250 followers twitter giveaway :) she requested Claude/Felix post canon, with Felix as Claude's bodyguard. I have something similar planned in the works for a longer collab fic w Ostodvandi (whose fics u should totally read btw) somewhere down the line, actually, but this was super fun!  
> Also worth noting that both Claude and Felix are trans here bc this is me

“Goddess above, I don’t know how you stand all those layers you’re wearing.” Claude looked up from his pile of paperwork at the sound of Felix’s voice. Felix was, as usual, stood next to the largest window in his office, seemingly waiting for even a slight gust of wind to provide him some relief from the heat.

Claude looked him up and down. He’d tied his hair up to keep it off his neck, but it wasn’t like that did any good for keeping him cool; his shirt was high collared, and on top of it he wore all the regalia required of a member of the royal guard. He was probably wearing an armoured vest as well, after the recent archery assassination attempt (Claude knew _he_ was). “You could just take some of that off,” he suggested.

Felix raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps I will,” he said. His fingers drifted to the buttons at the collar of his jacket, and Claude followed them with his eyes as they drifted back to his waist - back to his swords (even now, Felix tended to think only of one thing). “At least I would, if I thought I could shed a layer or two and you’d keep focusing on all of that work you need to do.”

Claude laughed, watching carefully for a reaction from Felix. His perpetual scowl lifted a little. “I’m not a Faerghan noble,” he said, keeping his tone light. Fódlan could still be a sore spot, sometimes, if Felix was having a bad day. “I won’t swoon at the sight of an ankle or two.” Or a collarbone, for that matter.

“I’d apply your statement to most of Fódlan’s nobles,” Felix said, and his left hand went back up to his collar. This time, he undid a handful of buttons. Not that Claude was watching him reveal his neck or anything.

“Would you include yourself in that statement?” Claude asked, paperwork thoroughly forgotten as he reached over his shoulder to shed the drapery slung over his shoulders. In his defence, it was quite hot, even if he wasn’t as bothered by it as Felix was.

“Absolutely not,” Felix said, making rare eye contact with Claude to inform him that, yes, this was definitely a challenge. And, well, if it was a competition...Claude wasn’t one to lose, even at something petty like this.

Thus began what Claude could only describe as a seduction competition. Perhaps it wasn’t strictly professional, or suitable for his station, or Felix’s, or the interactions that were meant to exist between them, but...well, Claude didn’t really care. It was harmless: he was attractive, Felix was attractive, and maybe Claude wanted to see a little - well, a little more of Felix, he supposed.

There was also the issue that Claude really wanted to see Felix smile. Or at least loosen up a bit. He hadn’t missed the tension always present in Felix’s stance, or the silences that stretched between them. He knew something was up, and he knew what that something was, at least vaguely - he just didn’t know how to help.

Also, Claude was competitive. Felix was competitive. As soon as the idea of such a competition had crossed either of their minds, it was practically inevitable that they would both keep doing it until the other backed down.

It started very simply. Felix, who was basically the most repressed person Claude knew, even if he didn’t stand much by ceremony, started doing tiny actions that were completely incongruous with how he normally acted. He began by leaving a handful of shirt buttons undone, doing away with his jacket, or even rolling his sleeves up.

Claude’s only response was to laugh, tease him a little about how pale everything other than his face and hands was, and escalate the situation a little. He started simply, shedding the heavy mantle he wore in public appearances when only Felix was around. On more casual days, when it was just Felix and him in his office, he’d shed his jacket or the woollen shawl he often wore in the early mornings.

Each time, he’d maintain as much eye contact with Felix as he could, seeing as apparently they’d broken that boundary Felix always put up - if only for the game. Fortunately, he got to see Felix’s frankly captivating eyes a lot more often. Unfortunately, he was yet to catch Felix so much as flinch at his state of undress (which was, admittedly, mild), let alone blush.

Felix then took the decision to step it up himself. “Claude,” he said, one early afternoon, the heat wafting in through the open windows even when covered. “Hold this a moment.” And then, without even pausing for Claude to agree, his mouth quirked into what could only be described as a smirk, he took his hair down in a single, fluid motion and handed the tie to Claude.

The last time Claude had seen Felix’s hair down was when they travelled across Almyra together. They’d both been hot, covered in sand, and tired, and Claude had caught a brief glimpse of his hair down before Felix had quickly pulled it back up. They’d shared an inn room that night, but neither of them said a word to one another.

This time, Felix seemed to be relishing in showing off. His hair was long, dark, and shining, showing none of the grey that had begun to creep in at Claude’s temples (which was so unfair, by the way. Claude was sure Felix had been under just as much stress as him), and he turned away from Claude slightly as he pulled his hair up off his neck and started braiding it, his fingers nimble.

Ah, so that was his game. Showing off the arc of his neck, the poise of his arms, the skill of his fingers, and of course his hair. Well, it was definitely a pleasant sight, but if that was all Felix could summon up, well...Claude wasn’t giving in.

“Say, Felix,” he said, handing the tie back with a winning smile when Felix was done. Felix didn’t smile back, but he inclined his head in thanks and firmly fixed the braid in place. “You’re free this evening, aren’t you?”

“Not particularly,” he said. Claude knew the drill; Felix was busy until Claude retired for the evening. At that point, the night guard took over, though Felix was essentially on call all night, even as he slept. Even then, once Claude shut himself up in his room to do some reading and get some rest, Felix tended to go to the training yard to find someone to fight.

“Regardless, would you care to join me for a bath tonight?” he asked. Felix’s movements, previously fluid as he moved to take his position back at the window after a quick circuit of the room, stuttered. Got him.

“I’ll have to decline,” he said. “I have plans. And I don’t care how large your kingly baths are, your _Majesty_ , neither of us can afford the fallout of the two of us discovered like- like that together. Not to imagine the safety problems. It would be foolish, plain and simple.”

Claude was tempted, for a moment, to ask if that meant he won. But he bit his tongue; Felix’s concerns were valid, of course, and he didn’t want to coerce Felix into anything like this. Their history was...complicated, to say the least, and he knew that whatever they held between them was fragile. It would easily be shattered by a careless joke or misplaced words.

There was nothing, Claude knew, more important to Felix than being able to protect another. If he felt that this was too much of a risk, he’d just have to respect that. Still, he couldn’t exactly back down either.

“Keep it in mind,” he said with a wink, and Felix just nodded, a frown firmly fixed on his face. With that, he glanced over at the large clock partly visible through the window. “Am I due elsewhere?”

“In the throne room,” Felix said, though the pair of them both knew that Claude already knew that. It was a good excuse to change the topic of conversation.

Of course, Claude took spending the whole afternoon in the throne room as an opportunity to step their little competition up in a different way. Whenever they were alone in the room, he shot a smile at Felix. Maybe he tried to take up a little more space on the throne than usual, but he wouldn’t say as much to Felix if asked. He knew Felix was watching, anyway, and caught his eyes drifting downwards more than once.

Yeah, Claude was going to be honest, he had absolutely no idea what the thing between them was. Whatever it was, though, it sure wasn’t a professional relationship, completely clean of any kind of innuendo. Because there'd been plenty of the latter lately.

The afternoon wore on into the evening, and Claude was finally free of his duties for the day. He expected everything to go as usual; peacefully and in solitude. But just as he turned at the door to his rooms, Felix stopped him.

“Claude,” he said. He was very carefully not looking anywhere near Claude’s face. “When are you bathing tonight?”

Claude grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. I’m bathing about an hour from now, if the mood strikes you to join me.”

“Maybe I will.” And then, of course, Felix was gone, still without showing even a hint of a smile.

Claude’s baths were probably big enough for four people to bathe comfortably without even touching, so he wasn’t too worried about scaring Felix off. That said, he got into the bath a little before he was anticipating Felix arriving. They may have stepped the flirting up to ‘aggressive’ recently, but that didn’t mean Felix would be comfortable watching him literally strip.

Felix arrived a little later, stripped down to what was probably the fewest layers Claude had ever seen him wearing. He said no more than a handful of words on his arrival before realising that there was, in fact, no changing screen. Oops. Maybe he should have thought of that.

Felix sat on the floor, a short distance from the bathing pool. Claude immediately looked the other way. “Claude, look at me,” Felix said, and he looked over again. Felix, without breaking eye contact, pulled off first his boots and then his socks. “Okay, you can look away now.”

Claude snorted, doing as Felix asked. Within a minute or two, Felix joined him in the water. It was - well, honestly, it was incredibly awkward. For all their posturing before, all the suggestive things they’d said and done, this was awkward.

Then Felix splashed him. Claude let out a slightly shocked laugh before splashing him right back. Then, well, they’d turned showing off small parts of skin into a competition that had escalated into them bathing together. Claude would have been disappointed if this particular incident hadn’t ended with Felix pinning him to the steps of the bath, their chests almost pressed together (Felix’s chest was unscarred, but hairy. Claude was tempted to ask why, but this thing they shared was a topic he’d never broached).

All of a sudden, Felix seemed to realise what he’d done, and he shot backwards, retreating to the other end of the bath. He tucked a strand of his loose hair behind his ear (when had it come loose? How long would it take to find the tie in the water?) and smiled.

It was only slight. Barely more than a whisper of a smile, really. Maybe he didn’t even realise. Claude wasn’t going to say anything about it either, in case it vanished as soon as it had appeared. But it was a smile nonetheless, and that definitely made being defeated in hand to hand bathtub combat worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a comment. You can also find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/samariumwriting) :)


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